Porous materials have drawn attention in various application fields, such as gas storage and separation, sensors, and catalysts. Currently, development of new porous materials having easily controllable chemical affinities with high surface area is highly demanded. In this light, a covalent organic framework (COF) can be built by a covalent bond between organic molecular units, such as polyboronic acids and polythiol compounds. Further, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging as one of the most promising materials as a gas adsorbent because the pore sizes and chemical affinities are easily-controllable by modifying the metals and linkers. Additionally, the COF is capable of forming various complexes, and thus has been studied for new applications beyond a gas adsorbent.
Meanwhile, carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene combine their remarkable electrical, chemical, thermal, optical, and mechanical properties with a huge surface area, and thus have been considered as hybrid materials in a broad range of applications, such as polymer reinforcing agents, electronic devices, and biological applications. These potential applications, however, are often limited due to the strong van der Waals interactions of a π-donor surface, which result in poor dispersion in CNTs and graphene.